A catheter system includes a catheter, a recovery sheath, and an outer sheath assembly. The catheter includes an elongate body having an expandable medical device coupled with a distal end thereof. The recovery sheath is disposed around a proximal section of the catheter body, and is sized and shaped to receive the expandable medical device therein. The recovery sheath is axially movable relative to the catheter body. The outer sheath assembly includes an outer sheath disposed over the catheter body. The outer sheath includes an elongate body that extends from a proximal end to a distal end, where the proximal end of the outer sheath body is positioned distally of the recovery sheath. The outer sheath includes a retention section sized and shaped to receive the expandable medical device therein and constrain the expandable medical device in a stored configuration. The outer sheath is removable from the catheter body.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for customizing an elution rate of a stent. The stent includes a hollow strut that forms the stent, the hollow strut defining a lumenal space, a drug formulation disposed within the lumenal space of the hollow strut, and at least one side port for eluting the drug formulation in vivo. When the stent is in the radially expanded configuration the hollow strut is deformable from a first configuration that has a first elution rate for the drug formulation to a second configuration that has a second elution rate for the drug formulation. The second elution rate is faster than the first elution rate. The hollow strut deforms from the first configuration to the second configuration upon application of an applied pressure above a predetermined threshold.

Apparatus for identifying a patient, said apparatus comprising: a medical device for implantation into the patient; an optical identifier affixed to the device; wherein at least a portion of the optical identifier is radiopaque, whereby to generate a scannable X-ray image of the optical identifier when the medical device is imaged using X-ray.

A therapeutic delivery device that provides a controlled release of high doses of a therapeutic agent in a local area, sustains the high dose controlled release with a percutaneous port for refilling the device, and is versatile for use with multiple types of therapeutic agents and/or implant systems. A rate determining/controlled release membrane is used to decrease the molecular mobility of the therapeutic compounds thereby controlling the therapeutic release profile. The therapeutic delivery device includes a body defining an internal reservoir for receiving a therapeutic agent and including a first membrane for providing a controlled release of the therapeutic agent to the surgical site, a port in fluid communication with the reservoir, a sleeve configured to encapsulate the body, and a rigid housing configured to support the body and a portion of the sleeve, the rigid housing configured to release the body and the sleeve after the body and the sleeve are anchored position relative to the surgical site.

Implantable devices may include a single, first component or a plurality of components such as first and second components, the second component being flexibly coupled to the first component. A socket extends over one or more of the component(s), the socket being configured to enhance the inter-component interaction and/or including one or more exposed surface(s) configured to exhibit one or more tiers of foreign body responses within a range of possible foreign body responses.

Numerous aspects of communication devices, methods, and systems are described in this application. One aspect is an apparatus comprising an energy generator comprising: a plurality of generator elements operable to output a plurality of different energy types in a signal direction toward a physiologic tissue; a printed circuit board that mechanically supports and electrically connects the plurality of generator elements to each other; each generator element of the plurality of generator elements being independently operable, when the energy generator is positioned relative to the physiologic tissue, to communicate with different nerves associated with the physiologic tissue by outputting a different portion of an energy signal in the signal direction toward the physiologic tissue with one energy type of the plurality of different energy types.

A method for controlling intraocular pressure in a patient’s eye is provided. The method includes creating an intraocular entry into the eye, selecting a location along an optical disc of the eye, creating a conduit connecting at least a portion of an intravitreal cavity with at least a portion of a subarachnoid space in the eye at the selected location, deploying at least one stent communicating between the intravitreal cavity and the subarachnoid space via the conduit, and equilibrating the intraocular pressure in the eye by allowing the stent to communicate fluid flow between the intraocular compartment and the subarachnoid space.

Described here are systems, devices, and methods for delivery of an implant to a bodily cavity. The implant may include a hub and a plurality of legs, and may be moveable between a low-profile and expanded configuration. The systems may include a crimping device having a crimping member with a plurality of arms. The plurality of arms may engage the plurality of legs of the implant, and may move the legs to move the implant to the low-profile configuration. In some instances a delivery device may aid in crimping and/or delivery of the implant.

A valve for use in manufacturing of implantable medical devices is insertable into a bore of the medical device during a manufacturing process. The valve is configured to remain closed while the pressure differential between an internal volume of the implantable medical device and a surrounding environment is below a particular threshold and to open when the threshold is reached, thereby allowing air or other fluids to escape from the internal volume into the surrounding environment. The valves are particularly useful during certain types of coating processes that must be performed at or near vacuum and provide an effective way to prevent ingress of coating material into the internal volume of the implantable medical device.

A method (400) controls the delivery of insulin in a diabetic patient (P) based on data (d) representative of at least a fraction of a meal (m(k+i)) that the patient (P) will consume. The method provides from a block (R) representative of conventional therapy or open loop rule that the patient (P) is subject to, based on the data (d) representative of at least a fraction of the meal (m(k+i)), a reference insulin value (u.sub.0). The method is also based on data representative of the difference between input data (ŷ), a reference glycemic level, and feedback data (y.sup.CGM) representative of the glycemic level detected in the patient (P). A control module (301; 401) provides a value of insulin (i) to be delivered to the patient (P) based on the various representative data.